Art of curing meat



FREDERICK W. KUR/K, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGN'OR TO WILSON & COMPANY,OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ART OF CURING MEAT.

Specification of I.ett ers Patent.

Patented May 31, 1921.

No Drawing. Original application filed January 31, 1921,.Seria1 No.441,503. Divided and this appli tion filed February 21, 1921. Serial No.446,762.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK W. KURK, a citizen of the United States,residing at 6100 Greenwood Ave., Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Artof Curing Meat, (Case A,) of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the art of curing or pickling meats,and will be fully understood from the description thereof hereinafterset forth.

In the curing or pickling of meats, including meats which aresubsequently smoked, it is customary to employ a'curing or picklingcompound containing salt and a nitrate, such as saltpeter, with orwithout added substances, such as sugar and spices. As hitherto carriedout, the results of curing meat have been variable, irregular anduncontrollable. Thus if a number of substantially identical pieces ofmeat, for example, hams, are placed in separate vats containingidentical fresh curing or pickling solutions, it will be found at theend of the cure that the liquors in the several vats differ markedlyfrom each other, as shown by their odor, taste and bacterial flora, andthe meats from the several vats differ from each other in shade anduniformity of color, flavor, etc. This variation in results is likewisetrue in dry salt cures and in cures, such as of sausage, in which thecuring compounds are incorporated or ground in with the meat to becured.

I have now discovered that the cure of the meat may be made standard orsubstantially uniform in all or any cures by producing in each cure adominant growth or culture of a single individual or type of bacterium.This bacterium I have found to be present in varying degrees of virilityin all successful cures, its effective action being hindered to agreater or less extent or completely destroyed and uniformity of itsaction being prevented by the presence and activity of other bacteria,of which I have found upward of 80 in ordinary pickles or cures. Thisselected type of bacterium, which has not previously been isolated nordescribed, is identifiable by the following characteristics;

1. It is non-putrefactive.

2. It is non-pathogenic.

3. It is nitrate-reducing,

4. It is a micrococcus.

I have found that regular and uniform cures may be made by inoculatingeach fresh pickle or cure with a virile culture of this selectedbacterium, whereby a dominant growth of this bacteria is produced. Underthese circumstances the growth and virility of other bacterial floranormally present in cures or pickles is entirely prevented or so greatlyreduced that they are unable to substantlally affect the character oruniformlty of the cure. It is likewise found that, by producing adominant culture or growth of the selected bacteria in the curing meatan improved color and flavor of the cured meat results. The employmentof the selected bacteria hence results in both an improvement in eachindividual pickle or cure as well as substantial uniformity in allpickling or cures.

The picklesor cures herein referred to may be either those in which themeat is immersed or so soaked in a solution of the ingredients of thecuring compound, those in which the curing compound is'applied as asurface coating on the meat, forexample, a dry salt cure, or those inwhich these ingredients are thoroughly mixed with the meat itself Thefirst two procedures are those generally employed, for example, withhams and the last with sausage, etc.

In inoculating the cure with the selected bacteria I prefer to employ avirile culture thereof, which may be produced, for example, by making athree day growth of the bacter a in bouillon, then transferring thebacter1a to a sterile normal salt solution,

which is applied in the cure in suitable pr'oportions. To illustrate thepractice of my invention, the following examples are given.

Example N o. 1.In making sausage the components of the cure are mixeddirectly with the meat, preferably during grinding. The curingconstituents may be, for example, 5 lbs. salt, 2 oz. saltpeter and 3 to10 oz. sugar to 150 lbs. of meat. At the same time a virile culture ofthe selected bacteria is introduced, a three day culture in 250 cc.

greatly retards the growth an putrefactive bac eria.

bouillon, transferred to a sterile normal salt solution, being added foreach 150 lbs. of meat, The meat, pickle constituents and inoculatingculture are thoroughly intermixed, together with any desired flavoringsubstances, the mixture is stuffed into casings, is stored and permittedto cure. The inoculation with the virile culture of the selectedbacteria produces a dominant growth thereof, which substantiallyprevents such growth of other pickle bacteria as will cause interferencewith the flavor, taste or uni-.

formity of the cure. lit likewise revents or Example N0. 2.-A picklesolution is made by dissolving in water 16-to 20% of salt, 0.2 to 0.6%saltpeter and 1 to 4% sugar.

Uther flavoring ingredients, condiments or spices may be added, ifdesired. The solution is placed in vats or tieigces, preferablythoroughly cleaned, and the meat, for example hams, to be cured isimmersed in the solution. Either before or immediately after theintroduction of the meat the pickle or solution is inoculated by addingthereto a normal salt solution containing a virile culture of theselected bacteria, for example, the bacteria of a three day growth ofthe bacteria in 250 cc. bouillon for each vat containin 1000 lbs. ofmeat to be cured. The

growt of the selected bacteria becomes the dominant bacterial growththerein and the growth of others is inhibited to such an extent thatthey produce no substantial cf:

feet 'upon the cure. The time of cure may action of esopce betrom to 60days up, varying with-the size of the hams being cured.

Tn cures such as the dry salt cure, in which the curing substances (saltand saltpeter) are made into a pasty mass with water and applieddirectly to the meats to be cured, the inoculating growth of bacteriamay be added to the water used in making the aforesaid paste. 0

This application is a division of my prior application Serial No.441,503 filed January 31,1921.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with thespecific denant growth of said micrococcus isproduced therein.

2. The process of curing sausage meat which comprlses incorporating 1nthe meat 5 lbs. salt and 2 oz. saltpeter for each 150 lbs. of meat andadding a salt solution containing the virile three day growth in 250cc.- bouillon of the non-putrefactive, nonpathogenic, nitrate-reducinfor each 150 lbs. of meat, w ereby a dominant growth of said micrococcusis produoed.

FREDERICK W. KURK.

micrococcus,

